Machine fob fokg-ing metal



UNITE STATES TENT OFFICE.

MACHINE FOR FORGING- METAL.

Specicaton of Letters Patent No.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELBRIDGE VHEELER, of Feltonville, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and ImprovedMachine for Forging Metals, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, makingpart of this specication, in which- Figure 1 is a plan. Fig. 2 anelevation. Fig. 3 a section upon the line A, A, of Fig. l.

My invention has for its object to forge or plate iron or steel, andconsists in the employment of revolving rolls for the purpose, when oneof the rolls is allowed to approach or recede from the other, and theposition of this roll is entirely under the control of the operator, sothat a greater or less pressure may be put upon the metal as may berequired.

My invention also consists in the use of a guard in combination with therolls, op-

erating in a manner that will be hereafter more fully described. j

My invention also consists in the employment of the boxes in which therolls run as a hammer or straightener', for the purpose of straighteningthe article as it becomes warped and bent under the operation of therolls.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention I willproceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the accompanying drawings B is the frame work of the machine C theupper, and D the lower roll, these rolls are driven in a directionindicated by the arrows (Fig. 3) by power applied to the shaft E whenceit is communicated through the pinion F to the gear G upon the shaft ofthe upper roll, and through the pinion H and intermediate gear I to thegear K upon the shaft of the lower roll; the rolls are so geared as tohave an equal surface motion, the upper one running in stationary boxes,and the lower one in boxes that are permitted to slide freely up anddown in the frame-work.

X are rollers upon the shaft of the lower roll, immediately beneathwhich are the eccentrics M that are secured to the shaft N. This shaftmay be turned a portion of a circle, so as to force the lower roll upagainst the upper one; the handle O secured to 16,505, dated January 27,1857.

the shaft being placed within reach of the workmans left hand for thepurpose.

a, a, are inclined grooves in the surface of each roll, which areemployed in drawing out and shaping a piece of metal when a bevel is tobe put upon each edge.

c, 0, are grooves in the lower roll for the reception of the guide I),the operation of which will be presently described; the upper roll isprovided with similar grooves di rectly opposite to those in the lowerone, the upper roll contiguous to these grooves being formed tocorrespond with the shape of the article to be rolled or forged. Theguard P is employed where it is desired to roll a scallop or otherpeculiar form upon one edge of a piece of iron and to preserve this edgeof the iron sharp and smooth; it also serves the purpose of keeping theiron straight and preventing it from bending round, as one side iscompressed more than the other. As the rolls approach each other theguard enters the groove c in the roll beneath, and thus it is itselfsteadied and guided, while it offers no impediment to the operation ofthe rolls. There may be a series of guards, one to each groove, or theremay be but one employed, which in that case must be adjusted to thegroove contiguous to that portion of the cylinder to be used. The guardmay be confined in position in any suitable manner, in the machinerepresented in the accompanying drawings, it is secured at each end tothe braces S which run from side to side of the machine.

At L, L2, the boxes which carry the rolls are allowed to project withinthe frame, and when the lower roll is raised the boxes come together andserve the purpose of a hammer and anvil, to be used as occasion mayrequire to straighten and true the work.

Operation: The rolls are caused to revolve by any suitable motive power,in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3. The operatorstanding in front of the machine, enters the heated iron between therolls, from the side on which projects the lever O, and depresses thislever with his left hand; and as the rolls bite the metal the latter isinstantly rolled out toward him, he then raises the lever, enters theiron again and repeats the operation, putting each time the requireddegree of pressure upon the lever O, and turning the iron with his righthand as in forging, until it is sufficiently drawn down. If it is to besimply beveled upon both edges it is occasionally entered between theinclined grooves a. If any particularl bevel or scallop is to be givento the edge of the iron, the guard is placed in the required groove, thecylinder contiguous thereto being suitably formed to give proper shapeto the edge, the guard as before stated keeping the iron straight, andpreventing it from swelling out upon one side.

From time to time as the forging proceeds, the iron may be placedbetween the boxes L, L2 for the purpose of truing and straightening it.It is evident thatthe force with which the rolls are caused to cometogether, is at all times under the control of the Workman; so that .hemay draw the metal down more or less rapidly as may be required.

The machine represented in the accompanying drawings is calculatedparticularly for the manufacture of horse shoes; in other branches ofsmiths Work, the grooves in the rolls Would require to be turned of adifferent form to suit the shape of the article to be manufactured.

MyA invention is applicable not only to forging, and drawing down ironor steel, but may also be employed to plate one metal With another asWhere iron is to be platedv with steel in the manufacture of certainhorse shoes, or of edge tools.

I do not claim the use of rolls revolving in fixed bearings, and havingdies therein for the purpose of forging or forming specific articles;but

Vhat I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentisl. The Within described combination and arrangement of the rolls C andD one of them being capable of motion to and from the other, andentirely Within the control of the operator as set forth.

2. I do not claim an annular guard or ring secured to one roll andplaying in a groove in the other, as this has been used before, but whatI do claim is the stationary guard P, adapted to grooves in both theupper and under rolls, and operating in the manner and for the purposesubstantially as herein set forth.

3. I claim prolonging the boxes in which the rolls run, for the purposeof straightening the Work as described.

ELBRIDGE VHEELER.

Witnesses:

Trios. R. RoAoH, SAM. COOPER.

